1
00:00:03,840 --> 00:00:07,040
Speaker 1: Welcome into the Lounge presented by DraftKings. I'm Ryan Mink

2
00:00:07,080 --> 00:00:10,960
Speaker 1: here with Garrett Downing and breaking news on the free

3
00:00:10,960 --> 00:00:15,520
Speaker 1: agency front for the Baltimore Ravens tonight. They have reportedly

4
00:00:15,640 --> 00:00:20,560
Speaker 1: reached an agreement with DeAndre Hopkins on a one year contract,

5
00:00:20,640 --> 00:00:26,080
Speaker 1: bringing the Pro Bowl wide receiver to Baltimore to compliment

6
00:00:26,239 --> 00:00:29,600
Speaker 1: this offense. And Garrett, this is a player that, uh,

7
00:00:30,240 --> 00:00:33,200
Speaker 1: We've talked about a lot over the years. I feel

8
00:00:33,280 --> 00:00:36,320
Speaker 1: like and Ravens fans have have thrown out that name

9
00:00:36,360 --> 00:00:38,879
Speaker 1: and said, what about D hot Man? We can we

10
00:00:38,920 --> 00:00:42,479
Speaker 1: go get D hop and and this just to me

11
00:00:43,040 --> 00:00:45,240
Speaker 1: feels like such a Ravens move.

12
00:00:45,440 --> 00:00:48,400
Speaker 2: Yeah, this is a guy that is obviously super productive

13
00:00:48,400 --> 00:00:50,400
Speaker 2: in his career. It's just exciting, Like it's exciting to

14
00:00:50,479 --> 00:00:54,200
Speaker 2: get a player of his caliber in free agency. And

15
00:00:54,480 --> 00:00:57,120
Speaker 2: we did a podcast earlier in the day talking about

16
00:00:57,320 --> 00:00:59,800
Speaker 2: how it'd been a little bit quiet and the Ravens

17
00:00:59,840 --> 00:01:02,080
Speaker 2: kept their own guys and they want to draft and develop.

18
00:01:02,160 --> 00:01:05,560
Speaker 3: And I still think all that is true. But what

19
00:01:05,600 --> 00:01:06,880
Speaker 3: they get in DeAndre.

20
00:01:06,560 --> 00:01:12,880
Speaker 2: Hopkins is a proven player, high caliber, monster production. He

21
00:01:12,880 --> 00:01:14,880
Speaker 2: has more receiving yards than any other active player in

22
00:01:14,920 --> 00:01:17,920
Speaker 2: the NFL. So you can't argue with the production. And

23
00:01:18,240 --> 00:01:21,160
Speaker 2: I kind of put this into the category of what

24
00:01:21,200 --> 00:01:24,560
Speaker 2: the Ravens did last year with Derrick Henry, where he

25
00:01:24,680 --> 00:01:27,080
Speaker 2: wasn't the most expensive free agent, he wasn't even the

26
00:01:27,080 --> 00:01:30,800
Speaker 2: most expensive free agent at his position, but he was

27
00:01:30,840 --> 00:01:35,320
Speaker 2: a great fit, highly productive player on the tail end

28
00:01:35,360 --> 00:01:37,440
Speaker 2: of his career, but still had plenty of gas left

29
00:01:37,480 --> 00:01:40,399
Speaker 2: in the tank. And it's just it's exciting to get

30
00:01:40,400 --> 00:01:43,039
Speaker 2: a player of that caliber at the price that the

31
00:01:43,080 --> 00:01:44,520
Speaker 2: Ravens got him at. And I think he'll be a

32
00:01:44,520 --> 00:01:45,400
Speaker 2: great fit for this team.

33
00:01:45,440 --> 00:01:47,640
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean I think that. Certainly your first thought

34
00:01:47,680 --> 00:01:50,480
Speaker 1: goes to, all right, is this another Derek Henry esque move.

35
00:01:50,520 --> 00:01:54,520
Speaker 1: Here's a future, potential, certainly Hall of Fame player that

36
00:01:54,520 --> 00:01:56,480
Speaker 1: they just added to the offense. I think that it's

37
00:01:56,520 --> 00:01:59,880
Speaker 1: a little bit different in that DeAndre Hopkins isn't being

38
00:02:00,040 --> 00:02:02,720
Speaker 1: brought in here to be the workhorse lead guy at

39
00:02:02,720 --> 00:02:05,680
Speaker 1: his position like Derrick Henry was. Right, Derek Henry was

40
00:02:05,880 --> 00:02:08,520
Speaker 1: the clear number one in the running in the backfield. Now,

41
00:02:08,960 --> 00:02:13,280
Speaker 1: DeAndre Hopkins is a complimentary piece and a really highly

42
00:02:13,440 --> 00:02:17,200
Speaker 1: high level, awesome, complimentary piece to what the Ravens have

43
00:02:17,320 --> 00:02:20,040
Speaker 1: already was Zay Flowers and Rashat Bateman. So I think

44
00:02:20,040 --> 00:02:24,079
Speaker 1: that needs to be made clear, right, like, yeah, this now,

45
00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:27,359
Speaker 1: I think that the Ravens needed to make a move

46
00:02:27,440 --> 00:02:31,520
Speaker 1: at wide receiver, even though you had your two starters

47
00:02:31,520 --> 00:02:33,959
Speaker 1: and you feel really good about those two guys A

48
00:02:34,160 --> 00:02:38,840
Speaker 1: and bait, like, you need three really strong wide receivers,

49
00:02:38,880 --> 00:02:41,280
Speaker 1: just a you know, in case of injury, for depth

50
00:02:41,560 --> 00:02:45,080
Speaker 1: for three wide looks like the Ravens offense in this

51
00:02:45,160 --> 00:02:47,720
Speaker 1: next iteration of version three point zero with TODM munkin,

52
00:02:48,200 --> 00:02:50,400
Speaker 1: maybe they go back to using more three wide looks,

53
00:02:50,440 --> 00:02:54,040
Speaker 1: I would assume. So now with DeAndre Hopkins in the fold,

54
00:02:54,400 --> 00:02:57,720
Speaker 1: but you needed more depth and proven playmakers there. I

55
00:02:57,760 --> 00:03:01,760
Speaker 1: think it would have been asking a lot to say, okay,

56
00:03:02,000 --> 00:03:05,080
Speaker 1: you know, Devontes Walker, step right up, you're a number

57
00:03:05,120 --> 00:03:09,400
Speaker 1: three wide receiver this year, right for example, Like, you know,

58
00:03:09,680 --> 00:03:12,040
Speaker 1: I think that Devonte's Walker is an intriguing prospect and

59
00:03:12,080 --> 00:03:14,880
Speaker 1: he's going to continue to develop. But DeAndre Hopkins has

60
00:03:14,919 --> 00:03:18,440
Speaker 1: proven it and now you have a bona fide, really

61
00:03:18,880 --> 00:03:20,720
Speaker 1: top notch wide receiver trio.

62
00:03:20,840 --> 00:03:23,920
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's hard to argue against this, this three receiver

63
00:03:24,040 --> 00:03:25,799
Speaker 2: set here that the Ravens could roll out there with

64
00:03:25,880 --> 00:03:28,040
Speaker 2: Zay Flowers, who's a Pro bowler in the second season,

65
00:03:28,280 --> 00:03:30,120
Speaker 2: where Shan Bateman is coming off the best season of

66
00:03:30,160 --> 00:03:33,240
Speaker 2: his career. In DeAndre Hopkins, who's been ultra productive in

67
00:03:33,280 --> 00:03:37,480
Speaker 2: his career and I still think has has good football

68
00:03:37,640 --> 00:03:40,280
Speaker 2: left in and when you look at his the Chiefs

69
00:03:40,280 --> 00:03:43,560
Speaker 2: traded for him last year. In ten games with Kansas City,

70
00:03:43,920 --> 00:03:47,040
Speaker 2: he had forty one catches for four hundred and thirty

71
00:03:47,040 --> 00:03:51,080
Speaker 2: seven yards four touchdowns. The year before in Tennessee he

72
00:03:51,200 --> 00:03:54,280
Speaker 2: was over one thousand yards. The two years before that

73
00:03:54,560 --> 00:03:56,960
Speaker 2: in Arizona he dealt with some injuries five seventy two

74
00:03:57,040 --> 00:03:59,720
Speaker 2: seven to seventy teen, but then he was on a

75
00:03:59,720 --> 00:04:03,320
Speaker 2: straight there from twenty seventeen to twenty twenty where he

76
00:04:03,440 --> 00:04:05,800
Speaker 2: was well over one thousand yards in each of those seasons.

77
00:04:05,880 --> 00:04:07,840
Speaker 2: So you're talking about a guy that's got almost thirteen

78
00:04:07,920 --> 00:04:12,360
Speaker 2: thousand receiving yards in his career in eighty three touchdowns,

79
00:04:12,800 --> 00:04:16,000
Speaker 2: and from a football standpoint, like what kind of role

80
00:04:16,080 --> 00:04:16,799
Speaker 2: was he going to play?

81
00:04:17,640 --> 00:04:19,200
Speaker 3: I think that he gives.

82
00:04:18,960 --> 00:04:22,680
Speaker 2: The Ravens a guy that can a proven chain mover

83
00:04:23,000 --> 00:04:25,600
Speaker 2: in clutch situations, Like he is going to be somebody

84
00:04:25,600 --> 00:04:28,880
Speaker 2: that can like they it's third and eight and the

85
00:04:28,960 --> 00:04:31,760
Speaker 2: Ravens need a big play, and DeAndre Hopkins has come

86
00:04:31,839 --> 00:04:34,000
Speaker 2: up with that catch time and time and time again

87
00:04:34,040 --> 00:04:35,479
Speaker 2: in his career, and I think he'll be able to

88
00:04:35,480 --> 00:04:36,479
Speaker 2: do the same thing this year.

89
00:04:36,720 --> 00:04:39,600
Speaker 1: Yeah. I think the word that you said there that

90
00:04:39,640 --> 00:04:43,159
Speaker 1: resonates with me is clutch. You know, you're talking about

91
00:04:43,839 --> 00:04:46,080
Speaker 1: how much have we talked about how did the Ravens

92
00:04:46,120 --> 00:04:47,840
Speaker 1: get over the hump? You know when they get into

93
00:04:47,880 --> 00:04:49,800
Speaker 1: the playoffs, who's going to make that play? He's going

94
00:04:49,880 --> 00:04:53,680
Speaker 1: to be that clutch performer. DeAndre Hopkins can certainly.

95
00:04:53,400 --> 00:04:53,960
Speaker 3: Be that guy.

96
00:04:54,200 --> 00:04:57,320
Speaker 1: I mean, he's made tons of plays like that over

97
00:04:57,400 --> 00:04:59,880
Speaker 1: his career. He caught a touchdown Super Bowl this past year,

98
00:05:00,480 --> 00:05:03,680
Speaker 1: and I you know, when you're talking about fifty to

99
00:05:03,720 --> 00:05:06,000
Speaker 1: fifty balls, like how much time have we spent here

100
00:05:06,000 --> 00:05:08,560
Speaker 1: in Baltimore talking about can we get a wide receiver?

101
00:05:08,640 --> 00:05:11,040
Speaker 1: He goes up and high points those fifty to fifty

102
00:05:11,080 --> 00:05:15,160
Speaker 1: jump balls, contested catches. Kind of guy that's DeAndre Hopkins,

103
00:05:15,560 --> 00:05:20,240
Speaker 1: you know, And he still has that ability. I mean,

104
00:05:20,360 --> 00:05:24,679
Speaker 1: I'm just thinking back to watching Chiefs games this past

105
00:05:24,720 --> 00:05:28,039
Speaker 1: season and seeing some of these catches that he makes

106
00:05:28,080 --> 00:05:30,840
Speaker 1: between two defenders and taking hits, and I'm like, geez, Louise,

107
00:05:30,920 --> 00:05:34,279
Speaker 1: this guy's still doing it, you know, Like, gosh, it's

108
00:05:34,360 --> 00:05:37,000
Speaker 1: crazy some of the highlight real plays that he made.

109
00:05:37,440 --> 00:05:40,599
Speaker 1: And so, you know, obviously, DeAndre Hopkins is a player.

110
00:05:41,080 --> 00:05:43,479
Speaker 1: He wants to get to that super Bowl badly. He

111
00:05:43,520 --> 00:05:46,080
Speaker 1: wants that super Bowl ring, just like Lamar Jackson, just

112
00:05:46,080 --> 00:05:48,680
Speaker 1: like tons of players on this Ravens team, and feels

113
00:05:48,800 --> 00:05:51,440
Speaker 1: he feels like the Ravens are a good place, just

114
00:05:51,440 --> 00:05:53,880
Speaker 1: like he felt like last year the Chiefs obviously were

115
00:05:53,920 --> 00:05:57,520
Speaker 1: a good place to try to do that. And I

116
00:05:57,560 --> 00:06:00,719
Speaker 1: think that he's right, you know, I think adding him

117
00:06:00,760 --> 00:06:05,800
Speaker 1: to this offense is potentially that piece that can get

118
00:06:05,839 --> 00:06:06,599
Speaker 1: you over the hump.

119
00:06:06,720 --> 00:06:06,880
Speaker 2: You know.

120
00:06:06,920 --> 00:06:09,680
Speaker 1: I mean that's maybe saying a little too much. I'm

121
00:06:09,760 --> 00:06:13,080
Speaker 1: in the afterglow of this trade, but like it feels

122
00:06:13,120 --> 00:06:16,040
Speaker 1: like that's that's the kind of peace. Like the Ravens

123
00:06:16,040 --> 00:06:18,880
Speaker 1: have been so close, right, They've had a team that's

124
00:06:18,880 --> 00:06:22,600
Speaker 1: been good enough. It's about making some of those contested catches,

125
00:06:22,680 --> 00:06:26,479
Speaker 1: clutch plays in big situations. To me, that's kind of

126
00:06:26,480 --> 00:06:28,120
Speaker 1: what he's been his entire career.

127
00:06:28,400 --> 00:06:30,880
Speaker 2: Earlier today, if anybody listened to the podcast, that we did.

128
00:06:30,920 --> 00:06:33,600
Speaker 2: We talked a lot about how the Ravens philosophy and

129
00:06:33,640 --> 00:06:35,360
Speaker 2: free agency is not to go out there and get

130
00:06:35,360 --> 00:06:38,440
Speaker 2: the most expensive player, but they use it to augment

131
00:06:38,480 --> 00:06:43,600
Speaker 2: the roster and fill important needs and add some really

132
00:06:43,680 --> 00:06:48,360
Speaker 2: quality veterans. And that's exactly what I think this is

133
00:06:48,520 --> 00:06:51,040
Speaker 2: and so well in early thirties.

134
00:06:51,120 --> 00:06:53,480
Speaker 1: I mean, this is this is Ravens. I mean, he's

135
00:06:53,480 --> 00:06:55,760
Speaker 1: thirty two years old. He's going to turn thirty three

136
00:06:56,240 --> 00:07:00,400
Speaker 1: here on June sixth, and yeah, price is right. Player,

137
00:07:00,440 --> 00:07:03,720
Speaker 1: a motivated player in his early thirties who still has

138
00:07:03,880 --> 00:07:09,640
Speaker 1: juice left, you know, gas left in the tank, proven production, proven,

139
00:07:10,000 --> 00:07:12,840
Speaker 1: you know, just guy veteran good. I think he'll be

140
00:07:12,880 --> 00:07:14,920
Speaker 1: a good influence. I think he'll be a good locker

141
00:07:15,000 --> 00:07:17,800
Speaker 1: room guy. Like it checks a lot of those boxes

142
00:07:17,840 --> 00:07:20,200
Speaker 1: that you felt like that the Ravens also checked with

143
00:07:20,240 --> 00:07:22,480
Speaker 1: Derrick Henry, even though he's in a different role.

144
00:07:23,120 --> 00:07:25,560
Speaker 2: I also think that when you look at the reported

145
00:07:25,600 --> 00:07:29,240
Speaker 2: contract is five million with a max of six million

146
00:07:30,040 --> 00:07:31,240
Speaker 2: based on some incentives.

147
00:07:32,200 --> 00:07:33,440
Speaker 3: When you look at like the.

148
00:07:33,360 --> 00:07:36,280
Speaker 2: Price of wide receivers on the free agent market, as

149
00:07:36,280 --> 00:07:39,040
Speaker 2: we've said a million times, they're expensive, they are They

150
00:07:39,080 --> 00:07:40,760
Speaker 2: go for big money. And you just look at some

151
00:07:40,840 --> 00:07:43,000
Speaker 2: of the deals that have been given out, so, like

152
00:07:43,560 --> 00:07:46,680
Speaker 2: I'll run through a few of them. Diami Brown went

153
00:07:46,720 --> 00:07:50,520
Speaker 2: to the Jaguars one year, ten million dollars, Hollywood. Brown

154
00:07:50,760 --> 00:07:52,440
Speaker 2: re signed with the Kansas City Chiefs on a one

155
00:07:52,480 --> 00:07:57,720
Speaker 2: year contract for eleven million dollars. Darius Slayton resigning with

156
00:07:57,720 --> 00:08:02,440
Speaker 2: the Giants three year contract thirty six million dollars. Josh

157
00:08:02,480 --> 00:08:05,400
Speaker 2: Palmer went to the Buffalo Bills on a three year

158
00:08:05,440 --> 00:08:09,120
Speaker 2: deal thirty six million dollars, eighteen million guaranteed. So and

159
00:08:09,200 --> 00:08:12,800
Speaker 2: none of them have the production overall of DeAndre Hopkins.

160
00:08:12,840 --> 00:08:15,960
Speaker 2: And I understand that he's he's on the back line

161
00:08:15,960 --> 00:08:17,840
Speaker 2: of his career. Some of those guys are just getting

162
00:08:17,880 --> 00:08:20,040
Speaker 2: their first big contract. I understand the difference in that,

163
00:08:20,080 --> 00:08:23,440
Speaker 2: But my point is just like receivers are expensive, and

164
00:08:23,520 --> 00:08:26,080
Speaker 2: for the Ravens to get somebody who can be like

165
00:08:27,280 --> 00:08:30,480
Speaker 2: a bona fide playmaker for the value that they got

166
00:08:30,520 --> 00:08:32,920
Speaker 2: him at, I really like that. I think that, like

167
00:08:33,679 --> 00:08:35,760
Speaker 2: that's what the Ravens look for in free agency. They

168
00:08:35,760 --> 00:08:39,600
Speaker 2: look for the whole right right player, right price mantra.

169
00:08:40,600 --> 00:08:42,320
Speaker 2: Then players that they feel like are going to fit

170
00:08:42,360 --> 00:08:44,760
Speaker 2: the culture and be a good member of the team.

171
00:08:45,120 --> 00:08:48,280
Speaker 2: And I think that Hopkins checks all those boxes.

172
00:08:48,360 --> 00:08:51,160
Speaker 1: Well. I mean the reason that he didn't get the

173
00:08:51,200 --> 00:08:53,920
Speaker 1: same money as there's other guys is age. Yeah, that's

174
00:08:54,320 --> 00:08:58,040
Speaker 1: the reason, you know. But the Ravens are a team

175
00:08:58,360 --> 00:09:00,480
Speaker 1: that have shown that they're willing to gamble on that that.

176
00:09:00,640 --> 00:09:03,640
Speaker 1: Like these guys, you know that age is just a number.

177
00:09:03,760 --> 00:09:05,640
Speaker 1: I mean, how many times has it worked out for him,

178
00:09:05,880 --> 00:09:09,520
Speaker 1: Derrick Henry, Kyle van Noy. You can keep going down

179
00:09:09,559 --> 00:09:11,880
Speaker 1: the list, the number Steve Smith. You know, they got

180
00:09:12,080 --> 00:09:14,720
Speaker 1: a great first year out of Steve Smith when he signed.

181
00:09:15,520 --> 00:09:18,959
Speaker 1: Keep going down the list and it does it always work? No,

182
00:09:19,040 --> 00:09:21,200
Speaker 1: it doesn't always work. But I'll tell you the Ravens

183
00:09:21,240 --> 00:09:23,280
Speaker 1: have a pretty darn good track record. They're hitting him

184
00:09:23,320 --> 00:09:26,320
Speaker 1: for a high average. Yeah, and when you look at

185
00:09:26,720 --> 00:09:31,760
Speaker 1: you know, I'm gonna dive into this into Deandre's film tomorrow,

186
00:09:31,880 --> 00:09:34,720
Speaker 1: but I mean you just look on the surface here

187
00:09:35,440 --> 00:09:41,120
Speaker 1: and okay. It with the Titans earlier last season, early

188
00:09:41,160 --> 00:09:43,280
Speaker 1: in the season before he got traded to the Chiefs,

189
00:09:43,280 --> 00:09:45,960
Speaker 1: he was averaging eleven point five a catch. Eleven point

190
00:09:46,000 --> 00:09:48,599
Speaker 1: five a catch is higher average per catch than he

191
00:09:48,640 --> 00:09:50,880
Speaker 1: had in twenty nineteen with the Texans when he put

192
00:09:50,920 --> 00:09:53,440
Speaker 1: up eleven hundred yards right, like, like you look at

193
00:09:53,480 --> 00:09:56,319
Speaker 1: his averages and it's not like, oh man, this guy

194
00:09:56,440 --> 00:09:59,320
Speaker 1: just fell off the cliff, you know what I mean? Like, yeah,

195
00:09:59,440 --> 00:10:02,160
Speaker 1: forty one catches for four thirty seven with the Chiefs

196
00:10:02,240 --> 00:10:05,920
Speaker 1: last year, four touchdowns, Like they ain't bad, you know

197
00:10:05,960 --> 00:10:09,280
Speaker 1: what I mean. Like he is a productive player there.

198
00:10:09,720 --> 00:10:13,120
Speaker 1: And so I think the Ravens have shown that they're

199
00:10:13,160 --> 00:10:16,680
Speaker 1: willing to, for lack of a better word in air quotes,

200
00:10:16,720 --> 00:10:21,079
Speaker 1: gamble on players who maybe in their last year of

201
00:10:21,240 --> 00:10:24,719
Speaker 1: their of their career or they are, you know, in

202
00:10:25,040 --> 00:10:29,080
Speaker 1: their twilight years. And they've hit on that gamble more

203
00:10:29,120 --> 00:10:32,920
Speaker 1: times than not. And I'm feeling good that they're going

204
00:10:32,960 --> 00:10:33,800
Speaker 1: to hit on this one.

205
00:10:34,040 --> 00:10:34,240
Speaker 3: Yeah.

206
00:10:34,480 --> 00:10:36,520
Speaker 2: And the other part of it, too, as you've talked about,

207
00:10:36,679 --> 00:10:41,720
Speaker 2: is there's he's in a good situation where the Ravens

208
00:10:41,720 --> 00:10:43,760
Speaker 2: aren't bringing him in and saying, all right, we're going

209
00:10:43,840 --> 00:10:45,520
Speaker 2: to count on this guy to get a hundred targets

210
00:10:45,520 --> 00:10:48,720
Speaker 2: this year. They're they're bringing him into a really established,

211
00:10:48,760 --> 00:10:52,720
Speaker 2: actually passing game, I mean not we already talked about

212
00:10:52,760 --> 00:10:55,320
Speaker 2: Zay Flowers and Rashad Bateman. Then add in the tight

213
00:10:55,440 --> 00:10:58,560
Speaker 2: ends Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely, who are obviously really

214
00:10:58,600 --> 00:11:02,120
Speaker 2: important pieces of this passing game and then the running game.

215
00:11:02,600 --> 00:11:05,920
Speaker 2: And so yeah, of course we haven't heard from Lamar Jackson,

216
00:11:05,960 --> 00:11:07,360
Speaker 2: but I gotta believe he's a fan of this. I

217
00:11:07,400 --> 00:11:09,600
Speaker 2: go back to when the Ravens brought in Odell Beckham Junior.

218
00:11:09,800 --> 00:11:13,720
Speaker 2: Remember this, the Ravens signed Odell, and both Odell and

219
00:11:13,960 --> 00:11:16,120
Speaker 2: DeAndre Hopkins were free agents at the time, and they

220
00:11:16,200 --> 00:11:18,200
Speaker 2: was talking about the Ravens would they be in the

221
00:11:18,240 --> 00:11:21,160
Speaker 2: mix for either of them? And Lamar even talked about

222
00:11:21,160 --> 00:11:23,959
Speaker 2: like at the time after finding out that they the

223
00:11:24,040 --> 00:11:26,920
Speaker 2: Ravens were signing Odell, like, hey, can we also get

224
00:11:26,960 --> 00:11:27,840
Speaker 2: DeAndre Hopkins?

225
00:11:27,920 --> 00:11:28,720
Speaker 1: Can we get them both?

226
00:11:29,040 --> 00:11:29,960
Speaker 3: Yeah? Can we get him both?

227
00:11:30,000 --> 00:11:30,040
Speaker 1: Like?

228
00:11:30,120 --> 00:11:33,320
Speaker 2: Could you bring both those guys here? And so I

229
00:11:33,360 --> 00:11:35,040
Speaker 2: think that he's gonna be a big fan of this

230
00:11:35,080 --> 00:11:37,800
Speaker 2: move and getting like a veteran, proven wide receiver to

231
00:11:37,800 --> 00:11:39,800
Speaker 2: go along with the really good weapons who the Ravens

232
00:11:40,200 --> 00:11:43,240
Speaker 2: already have. And I gotta believe Hopkins has certainly fired

233
00:11:43,280 --> 00:11:46,920
Speaker 2: up about it. The picture is circulating around Twitter today

234
00:11:46,960 --> 00:11:51,240
Speaker 2: of him, Lamar and Derrick Henry back at NFL Honors

235
00:11:51,280 --> 00:11:54,000
Speaker 2: in twenty twenty, after the twenty nineteen season where Lamar

236
00:11:54,080 --> 00:11:57,400
Speaker 2: won MVP and just had that historic season. It was

237
00:11:57,400 --> 00:11:59,440
Speaker 2: a pick of the three of them that Hopkins posted

238
00:11:59,480 --> 00:12:01,960
Speaker 2: on Twitter along with the quote, how many touchdowns for

239
00:12:02,000 --> 00:12:02,400
Speaker 2: this trio?

240
00:12:02,520 --> 00:12:04,400
Speaker 3: Well, we're about to find out. The answer is going

241
00:12:04,440 --> 00:12:04,640
Speaker 3: to have.

242
00:12:04,840 --> 00:12:06,000
Speaker 1: The answer is gonna be a lot.

243
00:12:07,080 --> 00:12:09,880
Speaker 2: That's your answer, Yeah, And so like that's why I

244
00:12:10,360 --> 00:12:14,320
Speaker 2: like this offense at this point, We're sitting here on

245
00:12:14,400 --> 00:12:18,400
Speaker 2: March eleventh, and this offense is basically plug and play.

246
00:12:18,559 --> 00:12:21,600
Speaker 2: It was already the best offense in the league last year,

247
00:12:22,520 --> 00:12:24,880
Speaker 2: one of the best offenses the league has ever seen

248
00:12:25,200 --> 00:12:29,880
Speaker 2: from a number standpoint, and maybe even has gotten better potentially.

249
00:12:30,480 --> 00:12:33,320
Speaker 2: And you you're returning all of your starters, with the

250
00:12:33,360 --> 00:12:35,719
Speaker 2: exception of your left guard, who the Ravens have good

251
00:12:35,760 --> 00:12:39,959
Speaker 2: quality candidates in house, so you kept your blindside protector

252
00:12:39,960 --> 00:12:42,040
Speaker 2: at left tackle. You bring back your full back, your

253
00:12:42,040 --> 00:12:44,319
Speaker 2: Pro Bowl fullback earlier in the day of Patrick Ricard.

254
00:12:44,640 --> 00:12:48,839
Speaker 2: And now you add a potential Hall of Fame wide

255
00:12:48,840 --> 00:12:52,560
Speaker 2: receiver to the mix, who's again a veteran player closer

256
00:12:52,600 --> 00:12:54,080
Speaker 2: to the end of his career, but still has.

257
00:12:54,000 --> 00:12:54,920
Speaker 3: Plenty of juice left.

258
00:12:55,120 --> 00:12:56,839
Speaker 2: And you put him along with your young pro Bowl

259
00:12:56,880 --> 00:13:00,800
Speaker 2: wide receiver, your really good tight ends, and Labar Jackson

260
00:13:00,920 --> 00:13:02,800
Speaker 2: run on the show. I think that that's just a

261
00:13:02,840 --> 00:13:05,040
Speaker 2: recipe to keep it rolling on offense.

262
00:13:05,679 --> 00:13:06,480
Speaker 3: Yeah, I agree.

263
00:13:06,520 --> 00:13:09,760
Speaker 1: And you know this this is the Ravens version of

264
00:13:09,800 --> 00:13:13,440
Speaker 1: a free agency splash, right Yeah. I mean when when

265
00:13:13,520 --> 00:13:17,479
Speaker 1: you talk about it that that's it, and and sometimes

266
00:13:17,640 --> 00:13:20,640
Speaker 1: it's it's making the smart splash. It's not just going

267
00:13:20,720 --> 00:13:25,240
Speaker 1: full cannonball, right. I mean, you gotta there's a form

268
00:13:25,320 --> 00:13:29,439
Speaker 1: to it, you know what I mean? And so I

269
00:13:29,760 --> 00:13:33,400
Speaker 1: think that this is a really good right player, right

270
00:13:33,679 --> 00:13:36,760
Speaker 1: price for the Ravens. And and we kind of touched

271
00:13:36,760 --> 00:13:39,040
Speaker 1: on it, and I want to get your perspective, Garrett, like,

272
00:13:39,480 --> 00:13:43,320
Speaker 1: does this potentially shift a little bit of of what

273
00:13:43,440 --> 00:13:46,000
Speaker 1: formations the Ravens are using? You know, are they going

274
00:13:46,080 --> 00:13:49,600
Speaker 1: to be using more eleven personnel, you know, one tailback,

275
00:13:49,679 --> 00:13:52,240
Speaker 1: one tight end, three wide, you know, as opposed to

276
00:13:52,320 --> 00:13:54,480
Speaker 1: using some of that twelve personnel that we saw a

277
00:13:54,559 --> 00:13:56,640
Speaker 1: lot of with two tight ends last year. Do you

278
00:13:56,679 --> 00:14:00,559
Speaker 1: think that this could be potentially an indication of what

279
00:14:00,640 --> 00:14:03,320
Speaker 1: the next iteration of todme Monkins offense looks like.

280
00:14:03,960 --> 00:14:07,000
Speaker 2: I definitely think there's potential for that, but I also

281
00:14:07,160 --> 00:14:09,880
Speaker 2: know that the Ravens resigned Patrick Riccard earlier in the day,

282
00:14:10,559 --> 00:14:14,840
Speaker 2: and so they still have the ability to go heavy.

283
00:14:14,679 --> 00:14:16,640
Speaker 1: And I think it's great. It's the ability to do

284
00:14:16,720 --> 00:14:17,480
Speaker 1: it all.

285
00:14:17,520 --> 00:14:18,320
Speaker 3: Like, yeah, I think that.

286
00:14:18,480 --> 00:14:20,920
Speaker 2: Like I go back to So, we had Todd Monkin

287
00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:24,280
Speaker 2: on the podcast last week, and if you haven't listened

288
00:14:24,320 --> 00:14:26,080
Speaker 2: to that, i'd encourage you to do that. I thought

289
00:14:26,080 --> 00:14:28,600
Speaker 2: Todd was insightful, and of course he's always entertaining, but

290
00:14:28,600 --> 00:14:30,640
Speaker 2: I thought he shared some really good perspective on the

291
00:14:31,400 --> 00:14:33,680
Speaker 2: vision for the offense. And the main thing that he

292
00:14:33,840 --> 00:14:36,120
Speaker 2: said that he's talked about before is like the players

293
00:14:36,160 --> 00:14:41,080
Speaker 2: are the system. Like he never understood this notion of like, oh,

294
00:14:41,120 --> 00:14:43,080
Speaker 2: this is my system. When we run it this way,

295
00:14:43,160 --> 00:14:45,280
Speaker 2: we're going to force the players into doing this. He

296
00:14:45,360 --> 00:14:47,360
Speaker 2: just felt like that was an archaic way of thinking,

297
00:14:47,800 --> 00:14:50,640
Speaker 2: and so as he looks at it now, like the

298
00:14:50,680 --> 00:14:53,440
Speaker 2: players are the system. So you have three really good

299
00:14:53,440 --> 00:14:55,480
Speaker 2: wide receivers, Yeah, find ways to get all three of

300
00:14:55,480 --> 00:14:57,200
Speaker 2: them on the field. If you're playing a team that

301
00:14:57,200 --> 00:14:59,640
Speaker 2: struggles to stop the run and is you know, later

302
00:14:59,720 --> 00:15:02,560
Speaker 2: on defense, maybe you go with a heavy run game

303
00:15:02,600 --> 00:15:05,480
Speaker 2: package and you say, here's Patrick Mcard and here's Derrick Henry,

304
00:15:05,520 --> 00:15:08,480
Speaker 2: and here's passes off to the tight ends. Like maybe

305
00:15:08,520 --> 00:15:10,960
Speaker 2: you go with that approach. I think the Ravens can

306
00:15:11,080 --> 00:15:14,360
Speaker 2: really be multiple in their offensive identity and change from

307
00:15:14,400 --> 00:15:16,880
Speaker 2: week to week. But however they do it, I think

308
00:15:16,920 --> 00:15:19,640
Speaker 2: that they've got explosive options across the board.

309
00:15:20,240 --> 00:15:22,880
Speaker 1: Yep. Just just saw this note from Jonas Schaeffer from

310
00:15:22,880 --> 00:15:26,880
Speaker 1: the Baltimore Banner that DeAndre Hopkins finished number twenty two

311
00:15:26,960 --> 00:15:32,080
Speaker 1: in the league last year an open score according to ESPN.

312
00:15:32,160 --> 00:15:35,560
Speaker 1: So like, dude, still getting open. There there's an indication

313
00:15:36,160 --> 00:15:37,240
Speaker 1: for you, yep.

314
00:15:37,520 --> 00:15:40,800
Speaker 2: And so getting open is good, and like you sometimes

315
00:15:40,800 --> 00:15:42,960
Speaker 2: you see that, like we saw that in twenty three,

316
00:15:43,040 --> 00:15:44,480
Speaker 2: there was a lot of that with a Sean Bateman

317
00:15:44,720 --> 00:15:46,480
Speaker 2: and then he comes back and has the best season

318
00:15:46,480 --> 00:15:46,920
Speaker 2: of his career.

319
00:15:47,080 --> 00:15:49,560
Speaker 1: Shot Bateman was number twelve, Save Flowers number nine and

320
00:15:49,600 --> 00:15:52,000
Speaker 1: Mark Andrews number seven. So that's that's pretty good.

321
00:15:52,120 --> 00:15:54,040
Speaker 3: For the top four in the top twenty two is

322
00:15:54,040 --> 00:15:54,520
Speaker 3: pretty good.

323
00:15:54,720 --> 00:15:57,320
Speaker 1: Top twenty yeah, exactly. So all right, so we're gonna

324
00:15:57,320 --> 00:15:59,280
Speaker 1: take a break, but when we come back, I have

325
00:15:59,320 --> 00:16:02,920
Speaker 1: a funny story that really illustrates how free agency goes down.

326
00:16:04,440 --> 00:16:06,240
Speaker 2: You're listening to the last podcast. We are coming to

327
00:16:06,280 --> 00:16:08,000
Speaker 2: you from the Seakeeek studio. We also want to mention

328
00:16:08,040 --> 00:16:11,000
Speaker 2: our partners at DraftKings Sportsbook. They are the official sports

329
00:16:11,040 --> 00:16:14,080
Speaker 2: betting partner of the Baltimore Ravens Draft Kings Sportsbook. The

330
00:16:14,080 --> 00:16:20,160
Speaker 2: Crown is Yours. So free agency is always predictable, you

331
00:16:20,200 --> 00:16:23,600
Speaker 2: know when things are gonna happen. It's always between the

332
00:16:23,640 --> 00:16:26,040
Speaker 2: hours of nine to five, nice and neat.

333
00:16:26,120 --> 00:16:27,560
Speaker 3: That's how it always operates.

334
00:16:27,240 --> 00:16:30,240
Speaker 1: Right, Yeah, No, well it's you know, as we talked

335
00:16:30,280 --> 00:16:33,080
Speaker 1: about on our last podcast, you know, during the day,

336
00:16:33,120 --> 00:16:35,360
Speaker 1: like there hasn't been a ton going on the past

337
00:16:35,360 --> 00:16:37,920
Speaker 1: couple of days. It's just I'm watching an NFL network.

338
00:16:38,440 --> 00:16:41,720
Speaker 1: I'm just I'm just on Twitter, you know, just monitoring

339
00:16:41,760 --> 00:16:45,000
Speaker 1: things and it's kind of been kind of slow. Well,

340
00:16:45,560 --> 00:16:49,080
Speaker 1: I go in uh occasionally, you and I as well

341
00:16:49,080 --> 00:16:52,600
Speaker 1: as our friend Clifton, we go and we talked to

342
00:16:52,680 --> 00:16:55,600
Speaker 1: some Ravens fan groups, so, you know, answer their questions

343
00:16:56,080 --> 00:16:58,280
Speaker 1: and just kind of be with be with fans a

344
00:16:58,280 --> 00:17:03,080
Speaker 1: little bit. And tonight I was with Ravens Nest fourteen

345
00:17:04,040 --> 00:17:06,480
Speaker 1: right around the corner from the facility. Shout out Raven's

346
00:17:06,560 --> 00:17:11,440
Speaker 1: nest fourteen, and I figured, hey, good time, right, we're

347
00:17:11,480 --> 00:17:13,399
Speaker 1: in free agency. We'll have a lot to talk about

348
00:17:13,440 --> 00:17:16,159
Speaker 1: all this stuff. We're talking about the possibility of the

349
00:17:16,240 --> 00:17:18,480
Speaker 1: Ravens adding a wide receiver, and I'm telling them, yeah,

350
00:17:18,520 --> 00:17:20,199
Speaker 1: you know, I think that there's definitely a chance that

351
00:17:20,280 --> 00:17:22,160
Speaker 1: they that's one spot still that.

352
00:17:22,160 --> 00:17:24,800
Speaker 2: Where they were You were saying, no way, you were saying,

353
00:17:24,800 --> 00:17:25,679
Speaker 2: I don't see it happening.

354
00:17:25,760 --> 00:17:26,560
Speaker 3: It's not gonna happen.

355
00:17:26,600 --> 00:17:29,159
Speaker 1: They will vouch me. They will vouch me. I was saying,

356
00:17:29,359 --> 00:17:31,520
Speaker 1: I think, like, if there's another spot where I could

357
00:17:31,520 --> 00:17:33,720
Speaker 1: see him spending a little bit of money, it could

358
00:17:33,760 --> 00:17:35,960
Speaker 1: be at wide receiver. Because there's a number of veterans

359
00:17:35,960 --> 00:17:38,119
Speaker 1: out there. And we talked about the buzz with Cooper

360
00:17:38,160 --> 00:17:40,320
Speaker 1: Cup that you and I talked about and all that stuff.

361
00:17:40,920 --> 00:17:44,600
Speaker 1: And so we get done having that conversation and probably

362
00:17:44,640 --> 00:17:48,040
Speaker 1: ten minutes later, somebody says, uh uh, Ryan Kai, interrupt you.

363
00:17:48,520 --> 00:17:52,760
Speaker 1: We got the wide receiver. So he he broke the

364
00:17:52,800 --> 00:17:58,119
Speaker 1: news to me as some answering fan questions, and I'm like, well, yo,

365
00:17:58,200 --> 00:18:00,320
Speaker 1: we're gonna have to wrap this here pretty soon because

366
00:18:00,359 --> 00:18:04,160
Speaker 1: I've got some work to do. So that's just how

367
00:18:04,240 --> 00:18:07,880
Speaker 1: free agency works. News Breaking Raven's Nest fourteen. I said,

368
00:18:07,880 --> 00:18:09,480
Speaker 1: we have a new Adam Schefter.

369
00:18:09,600 --> 00:18:10,280
Speaker 3: In that group.

370
00:18:10,920 --> 00:18:14,480
Speaker 1: Uh so shout out to them, good good peeps, love

371
00:18:14,520 --> 00:18:17,000
Speaker 1: hanging out with them, and uh yeah, free agency is

372
00:18:17,040 --> 00:18:20,639
Speaker 1: just wild it of course. And I told Cliff and

373
00:18:20,680 --> 00:18:24,680
Speaker 1: I told Matt Ryan, who's our editorial system. I was like, look, guys,

374
00:18:24,720 --> 00:18:26,320
Speaker 1: I'm gonna be kind of out of the loop for

375
00:18:26,359 --> 00:18:28,520
Speaker 1: an hour. This is gonna be like the one pocket

376
00:18:28,560 --> 00:18:30,720
Speaker 1: a time where it's gonna be a little harder to

377
00:18:30,760 --> 00:18:32,280
Speaker 1: reach me. Just let you know, like you got me

378
00:18:32,320 --> 00:18:34,560
Speaker 1: covered during that time. They're like, yeah, yeah, you know,

379
00:18:34,600 --> 00:18:37,720
Speaker 1: nothing's gonna happen. Of course, everything everything comes out.

380
00:18:37,760 --> 00:18:40,680
Speaker 2: Then that's when that's how you know, like if there's

381
00:18:40,880 --> 00:18:43,160
Speaker 2: if there's an hour where you feel like you're gonna

382
00:18:43,160 --> 00:18:45,320
Speaker 2: be out of the mix, that's the hour where exactly

383
00:18:45,400 --> 00:18:47,800
Speaker 2: if you go down. The one other point quickly that

384
00:18:47,960 --> 00:18:50,359
Speaker 2: I want to hit on is there was also a

385
00:18:50,400 --> 00:18:54,400
Speaker 2: report that came out earlier tonight from NFL Networks Camera

386
00:18:54,480 --> 00:18:57,960
Speaker 2: Wolf that the Ravens are planning to release Nickel Corner,

387
00:18:58,000 --> 00:19:00,680
Speaker 2: the veteran corner Arthur Molett wichould free about two point

388
00:19:00,720 --> 00:19:05,760
Speaker 2: two point two million dollars in cap space. So you

389
00:19:05,800 --> 00:19:08,160
Speaker 2: talk about ways to create cap room, that's a way

390
00:19:08,200 --> 00:19:09,720
Speaker 2: to do it. The Ravens don't have a ton of

391
00:19:09,720 --> 00:19:12,000
Speaker 2: cap space, so they're always looking for opportunities to do that.

392
00:19:12,160 --> 00:19:15,000
Speaker 2: I think Arthur Malett is a guy that just I

393
00:19:15,040 --> 00:19:17,480
Speaker 2: was disappointed to see just the way the injuries cost

394
00:19:17,520 --> 00:19:19,280
Speaker 2: him last season. Like, I thought he was looking really

395
00:19:19,280 --> 00:19:21,640
Speaker 2: good in training camp. I was excited to see him play.

396
00:19:21,520 --> 00:19:24,200
Speaker 1: One of the ravens best offseason practice players.

397
00:19:24,480 --> 00:19:26,440
Speaker 2: Yeah, like I thought he I thought he was really

398
00:19:26,440 --> 00:19:28,760
Speaker 2: poised to have a strong, strong year and it was.

399
00:19:29,160 --> 00:19:30,240
Speaker 3: I felt really bad for him.

400
00:19:30,240 --> 00:19:33,480
Speaker 2: I liked him and just felt like the injuries took

401
00:19:33,880 --> 00:19:35,440
Speaker 2: you know, took their toll last year and kind of

402
00:19:35,480 --> 00:19:38,200
Speaker 2: robbed him of that season. But had a great twenty

403
00:19:38,240 --> 00:19:40,320
Speaker 2: twenty three season with the Ravens and got that contract

404
00:19:40,400 --> 00:19:42,720
Speaker 2: last year and then injuries just cost him. But uh,

405
00:19:42,920 --> 00:19:45,959
Speaker 2: like I liked him as a guy and just disappointed

406
00:19:46,000 --> 00:19:48,720
Speaker 2: to see again the injuries kind of cost him last season.

407
00:19:49,200 --> 00:19:52,600
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, I totally agree. I think, uh yeah, it's

408
00:19:52,600 --> 00:19:54,560
Speaker 1: a tough blow. The Ravens certainly have work to do

409
00:19:54,600 --> 00:19:58,560
Speaker 1: at cornerback. You know, obviously that's Brandon Stevens as well,

410
00:19:58,680 --> 00:20:03,320
Speaker 1: so that could be another position where it's a combination veteran.

411
00:20:03,440 --> 00:20:06,359
Speaker 1: I certainly expect they're going to draft a corner, you know,

412
00:20:06,840 --> 00:20:09,399
Speaker 1: potentially multiple. Right, that's the other news that tonight. The

413
00:20:09,480 --> 00:20:14,879
Speaker 1: Ravens confirmed eleven draft picks. They got their four compensatory picks. Uh,

414
00:20:15,000 --> 00:20:17,879
Speaker 1: they got one in the fourth round, fifth rounder, and

415
00:20:18,280 --> 00:20:23,160
Speaker 1: two six and so eleven draft picks, as we've all

416
00:20:23,200 --> 00:20:25,679
Speaker 1: been saying, and and they're going to fill out the

417
00:20:25,760 --> 00:20:28,800
Speaker 1: roster in large part with that. But I don't think

418
00:20:28,800 --> 00:20:30,880
Speaker 1: they're done in free agency either. I think that they

419
00:20:30,880 --> 00:20:33,080
Speaker 1: are going to continue to kind of plug in some

420
00:20:33,200 --> 00:20:36,200
Speaker 1: veteran pieces. Obviously they can't spend a ton of money,

421
00:20:36,720 --> 00:20:39,760
Speaker 1: but they have some depth pieces that I think they're

422
00:20:39,760 --> 00:20:40,920
Speaker 1: going to add in free agency.

423
00:20:41,320 --> 00:20:43,679
Speaker 2: Well, the next move that's guaranteed to happen is is

424
00:20:43,720 --> 00:20:47,040
Speaker 2: whenever year out of the mix. Just just let everybody

425
00:20:47,160 --> 00:20:49,240
Speaker 2: know when that's going to be, and we'll know when

426
00:20:49,400 --> 00:20:51,080
Speaker 2: they're gonna we're gonna announce that signing.

427
00:20:51,160 --> 00:20:53,960
Speaker 3: So, as always, we love here for you.

428
00:20:54,000 --> 00:20:55,880
Speaker 2: Let us know your thoughts on this on this move,

429
00:20:56,160 --> 00:20:58,600
Speaker 2: you can email us at a lounge at Ravens dot

430
00:20:58,720 --> 00:20:59,920
Speaker 2: NFL dot net.

431
00:21:00,280 --> 00:21:01,680
Speaker 3: As you've been saying all week.

432
00:21:01,680 --> 00:21:04,080
Speaker 2: News can happen quickly and we will be here to

433
00:21:04,160 --> 00:21:06,359
Speaker 2: react and break it all down for you over the

434
00:21:06,400 --> 00:21:08,280
Speaker 2: course of the week. Thank you so much for listening,

435
00:21:08,680 --> 00:21:12,840
Speaker 2: and we will be back with you again so